Authentication system, and method for registering and matching authentication information

ABSTRACT

A certain amount of unique data of a target is extracted from image information that was read, and it is determined whether or not the target is valid on the basis of the extracted unique data. Processes are executed by means of an image reading unit which extracts an image by scanning a target, an individual difference data calculating unit which calculates individual difference data from the obtained image, an individual difference data comparing unit which compares the calculated individual difference data, and a determination unit which determines whether or not to grant validation.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to an authentication system, and to amethod for registering authentication information and for matchingauthentication information, i.e., an authentication system thatextracts, from image data, characteristics inherent to a subject image,and employs the extracted characteristics, and a method for registeringauthentication information and for matching authentication information.

BACKGROUND ART

Various types of authentication techniques for determining whether ornot a subject is an authorized target have been employed for all aspectsof human behavior and activities, and since the advent of the Internetand the development of the electronic processing of information, ahigher level authentication technique is required. As an orthodoxauthentication technique, an item having a unique shape, such as a sealor a signature, is provided as a marker for a subject, and at thepresent, technical features, such as a hologram, an embedded pattern (awatermark), a latent image, pearl ink, microprinting, luminescent inkand intaglio printing, are employed to prevent counterfeiting. Moreover,in accordance with the development of electronic processing,predetermined information, such as a passwords, is encrypted as secretinformation and employed for comparison to prevent forgeries.Furthermore, various biometric authentication techniques are alsoemployed whereby biometric data unique to an individual human body, suchas fingerprints, are registered in advance, so that in a case whereinauthentication is required, actual biometric data are gathered byreading and authentication performed by determining whether thebiometric data gathered for the case matches the registered biometricdata (see, for example, patent literature 1).

CITATION LIST Patent Literature

-   PTL 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-205393

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

However, of the above described authentication techniques, a problemexists, with the technique for which a password is employed, in thatsince a password must be decided in advance and a user must remember thepassword, the amount of information involved is so extremely small thatstealing or forgery of the information could be easy.

For the technique that employs biometric data, only a human being can beemployed for a determination as to whether or not a subject is anauthorized subject, and basically, targets or other animals or plantscan not be used. However, as another problem, recently, since an actionfor forging biometric data has occurred, the authentication techniquefor which biometric data is employed is not always completely safe.

Furthermore, since most high-level authentication techniques require theadvance physical or electronic attachment of authentication informationto a subject, processing performed for the subject is required, so thatpromotion of the use of the authentication technique is hindered.

While taking the above described conventional problems into account, onetargetive of the present invention is to provide an authenticationsystem that does not require processing for a target to be authenticatedand that extracts unique data from image data representing individualcharacteristics of the target, which are obtained under predeterminedconfiguration requirements, by employing a standard digital imagingapparatus having a predetermined configuration and then employing theextracted unique data to determine whether the target is an authorizedtarget, as well as a method for registering authentication informationand for matching authentication information.

To achieve this targetive, the invention according to claim 1 ischaracterized by comprising:

storage means for storing, as individual difference data used touniquely identify a target to be authenticated, connected lines that aregenerated in such a manner that a plurality of sets of digital data areobtained by scanning and resolving the target using digital imagingmeans, an optical data difference is calculated at correspondingpositions, designated by the digital data, midpoints for physicalpositions of a subject, which correspond to center positions of pixelslocated at the obtained corresponding positions, are calculated based ona physical size of the subject that corresponds to a pixel size of thedigital imaging means, and are coupled in order, as connection points,beginning with the largest optical data difference;

transformation value calculation means for, when the digital imagingmeans has obtained digital data through scanning, multiple times, thetarget to be authenticated under configuration requirements for thedigital imaging means, comparing a plurality of sets of the thusobtained digital data, and calculating translation and rotationaltransformation of the individual digital data sets in order to matchpositions for mapping the target to be authenticated; and

individual difference data extraction and determination means foremploying the obtained translation and rotational transformation toidentify correlated positions of pixel arrays of the plurality ofdigital data sets and to read, from the storage means, the connectedlines for the individual difference data for the correspondingpositions, for tracing a polygonal line to search for locations of theconnection points present on the connected lines that have been read,and for calculating an optical data difference of pixels on physicalpixel planes that include the locations of the connection points, andthat are superimposed, and when it is determined that a predeterminedrelationship is established between the obtained optical data differenceand the order of the connected lines, determining that authentication issuccessful.

For the invention according to claim 2, the authentication system ofclaim 1 is characterized in that:

a resolution of the digital imaging means is included in configurationrequirements for the digital imaging means; and

the resolution of the digital imaging means is lower than a particlesize used to form an image of the target to be authenticated.

For the invention according to claim 3, the authentication system ofclaim 1 or 2 is characterized in that the transformation valuecalculation means sequentially scans the target to be authenticated aplurality of times.

For the invention according to claim 4, the authentication system of oneof claims 1 to 3 is characterized by further comprising:

correction means for employing predesignated information to performcorrection for normalizing a difference in image data caused by adifference in configuration requirements for the digital imaging means.

The invention according to claim 5, the authentication system of one ofclaims 1 to 4 is characterized in that:

the storage means also stores a line connection comparison setup,including parameters and comparison methods, to be used for comparisonof connected lines; and

the individual difference data extraction and determination meansemploys the comparison setup stored in the storage means to trace, alonga polygonal line, positions of connection points on the connected linesthat have been read, and determines that authentication is successful,when the obtained optical data difference indicates, with respect to theorder of connection lines, a predetermined relationship that isdesignated in the comparison setup.

For the invention according to claim 6, the authentication system of oneof claims 1 to 5 is characterized in that when the obtained optical datadifference indicates a descending order by a predetermined number, withrespect to the order of the connection lines, the individual differencedata extraction and determination means determines that authenticationis successful.

The invention according to claim 7 is an authentication informationregistration method, characterized by comprising:

a transformation value calculation step of calculating paralleltranslation and rotational transformation, so that based onpredetermined configuration requirements for digital imaging means, atarget to be authenticated is scanned by the digital imaging means aplurality of times to obtain digital data, a plurality of sets ofdigital data thus obtained are compared with each other, and locationsat which mapping for the target to be authenticated is performed usingthe digital data are matched;

a step of employing the obtained parallel translation and rotationaltransformation to designate correlated locations of pixel arrays of theplurality of sets of digital data, and calculating an optical datadifference for the correlated locations that are designated;

a step of calculating a physical size for a subject, with respect to apixel size of digital data based on configuration requirements for thedigital imaging means, employing the obtained physical size tocalculate, as connection points, midpoints of physical positions of thesubject that correspond to the center positions of pixels that arelocated at the corresponding positions, coupling the connection pointsin the descending order, by an arbitrary number of times, beginning withthe largest optical data difference, and extracting connected lines asindividual difference data; and

a registration step of registering the extracted connected lines atstorage means.

For an authentication system that includes storage means for storing, asindividual difference data used to uniquely identify a target to beauthenticated, connected lines that are generated in such a manner thata plurality of sets of digital data are obtained by scanning andresolving the target using digital imaging means, an optical datadifference is calculated at corresponding positions, designated by thedigital data, midpoints for physical positions of a subject, whichcorrespond to center positions of pixels located at the obtainedcorresponding positions, are calculated based on a physical size of thesubject that corresponds to a pixel size of the digital imaging means,and are coupled in order, as connection points, beginning with thelargest optical data difference, the invention according to claim 8 ischaracterized by comprising:

a transformation value calculation step of, when the digital imagingmeans has obtained digital data through scanning, multiple times, thetarget to be authenticated under configuration requirements for thedigital imaging means, comparing a plurality of sets of the thusobtained digital data, and calculating translation and rotationaltransformation of the individual digital data sets in order to matchpositions for mapping the target to be authenticated; and

an individual difference data extraction and determination step ofemploying the obtained translation and rotational transformation toidentify correlated positions of pixel arrays of the plurality ofdigital data sets and to read, from the storage means, the connectedlines for the individual difference data for the correspondingpositions, tracing a polygonal line to search for locations of theconnection points present on the connected lines that have been read,and for calculating an optical data difference of pixels on physicalpixel planes that include the locations of the connection points, andthat are superimposed, and when it is determined that a predeterminedrelationship is established between the obtained optical data differenceand the order of the connected lines, determining that authentication issuccessful.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram for an authentication systemaccording to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an authentication process performed forthe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the presentinvention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the processing, of the embodiment ofthe present invention, for extracting an individual identificationpattern;

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining the processing, of the embodiment ofthe present invention, for extracting an individual identificationpattern;

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining the processing, of the embodiment ofthe present invention, for extracting an individual identificationpattern;

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the authentication processingperformed, for the embodiment of the present invention, by employing anindividual identification pattern that has been extracted in advance;

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining an example, for the embodiment of thepresent invention, wherein a determination for matching is performedthrough the authentication processing performed by employing anindividual identification pattern that has been extracted in advance;

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining an example process, of theembodiment of the present invention, for correcting a target image thatis extracted;

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the process for correcting aspecific example for which the embodiment of the present invention isapplied;

FIG. 12 is a diagram for explaining a matching process performed forspecific examples for which the embodiment of the present invention isapplied;

FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining another specific example for whichthe embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 14 is a diagram for explaining an additional specific example forwhich the embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 15 is a diagram for explaining a further specific example for whichthe embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining yet one more specific example forwhich the embodiment of the present invention is applied;

FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example tinted-glasses connection forthe embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example connection method for aone-stroke line image according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 19 is a diagram showing another example connection method for aone-stroke line image according to the embodiment of the presentinvention;

FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the processing for registering individualdifference data according to this embodiment;

FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the authentication processing performedfor this embodiment;

FIG. 22 is a detailed diagram for explaining calculation of an opticaldata difference according to this embodiment; and

FIG. 23 is a diagram for explaining an example, for the embodiment ofthe present invention, wherein determination for matching is performedthrough authentication processing employing an individual identificationpattern that has been extracted in advance.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

One embodiment for an authentication system, a method for registeringauthentication information, and for matching authentication informationof the present invention will now be described, while referring todrawings.

<Principle of Individual Authentication System>

The system of this embodiment determines the identity of a target to beauthenticated, based on principles related to unique information for thetarget extracted from image data, which represents the characteristicsof each target obtained, under predetermined configuration requirementsby a standard digital imaging apparatus having a predeterminedconfiguration, without any processing being required for the target, andbased on a unique information extraction method, for extracting uniqueinformation from an image that was read, and an individualauthentication method, for authenticating a target, as needed, based onthe unique information that is extracted. Further, targets can includearbitrary materials, such as printed matter and various finishedproducts or parts, and human bodies, so long as an image can be obtainedby scanning or imaging the surface.

<Unique Information Based on Individual Difference>

The purpose for scanning a material that actually exists using a digitalimaging apparatus, such as a scanner or a camera, is to quantize thestatus of the surface; however, the entire structure of the material tobe processed can not be read. It can be said that scanning of thesurface of the material is mapping of a phenomenon that occurs, momentby moment, on the surface of the material. For example, when imagescanning is performed by an image sensor (CCD/CMOS), whereinlight-receiving portions, such as imaging elements, which react to lightof an optical wavelength (a visible light range of a short wavelength of360 nm to 400 nm to a long wavelength of 760 nm to 830 nm) are arrangedon the plane, a difference occurs in the image processing, the primarycolor spectroscopy and the element configuration, but reproduction fordigital mapping of phenomenon is performed by a color imaging process(numerical imaging process) during which collected light is separatedinto RGB and others, charge reactions of the individual light-receivingportions are quantized to numerical values, and the numerical values arearranged in order and output as array data. The optical mapping dataobtained is a numerical value replaced with the scale of a resolutionthat corresponds to the XYZ arrangement. Further, for the image sensor,when a pixel resolution is high, i.e., when the sizes of the individuallight-receiving portions of the sensor are smaller than the wavelengthof light, optical observation is disabled, or when the light-receivingportions are greater, observation of the material by the individuallight-receiving portions is also disabled. Furthermore, since a naturalsubstance is arranged at random, reconstruction of the natural substanceis also impossible by using the image sensor, where the light-receivingportions are provided as arrays.

This indicates resolving power, and image data is formed in such amanner that, when reactions have occurred relative to light received inconsonance with the sizes of elements, which are scan unit areas for theimage sensor, the reactions are quantized to be provided as an array,i.e., when the amount of electricity is generated in consonance withlight received at the individual elements arranged in a predeterminedform in the image sensor, the amount of electricity is provided as anarray. Therefore, this quantization process is also eventually a colorcompression process for performing quantization for a phenomenon thatoccurs in one part of a target that corresponds to one scan unit area,and it can be said that image data obtained by arranging the results isa phenomenon resolved in accordance with the size of the scan unit area.That is, image data obtained by scanning is changed in accordance withconfiguration requirements, such as a resolution, and in thisembodiment, this phenomenon is focused on to extract unique informationfor a target. Here, the configuration requirements are the structuraland exposure requirements for an imaging apparatus, consisting ofparameters that represent the physical locations, the types, the sizes,the resolutions, the lens arrangements and the lens magnifications ofimaging elements, and the physical location, the luminescence, thefrequency properties, the color temperature of a lighting device, suchas an LED, a subject distance relative to a target to be authenticated,a focal position, a focal length, a shutter speed, a frame rate, and apositional relationship between the target to be authenticated and anoptical system that includes the lenses and the imaging elements.

Since a target for which authentication is actually to be determined isformed of a natural material, the smallest size of this material is a“particle”, which is even smaller than nano- and micro-sized. Photonsare larger than these particles, and for visible light, since thewavelength is set in the visible light range between a short wavelengthof 360 nm to 400 nm to a long wavelength of 760 nm to 830 nm, light(visible light) is not reflected at the unit area of a substance that issmaller than the above described size. Therefore, the phenomenon of anatural substance that is much smaller than the scale of a resolutioncan not be interpreted by quantization using a sensor; however, thereading results, i.e., the values output by the sensor are affected bythe phenomenon that occurs in the unit area of that size. That is, whenthe scanning position is shifted even slightly (by micro-order), i.e.,when the positions of the arrays of image data obtained by reading thesame target a plurality of times are slightly shifted away from thecorresponding locations of the elements of the image sensor employed forreading, the corresponding numerical values of optical data to beobtained by the elements are adversely affected, and thus, even whenscanning of the same target is repeated under the same condition, thesame scan data can not be obtained. This phenomenon always occurs solong as an image sensor that has a resolution smaller than thewavelength of light is not provided, and in this invention, a differencein the reading results is called a resolution difference. FIG. 4 is adiagram for explaining this difference resolution by employing aspecific CCD sensor. It should be noted that an example shown in FIG. 4is merely an example for which this principle is applied, and thepresent invention is not limited to any of the techniques specificallydescribed in this example.

Referring to FIG. 4, generally, in a CCD sensor, for example, that isemployed for a scanner that reads a target to be authenticated, light issplit into RGB light, etc., by imaging elements arranged atpredetermined intervals, as illustrated, and the visible light having awavelength (in a visible light range of a short wavelength of 360 nm to400 nm to a long wavelength of 760 nm to 830 nm) enters the apertures ofthe imaging elements and are converted into electrical charges, whichare then accumulated. The RGB visible light is digitized by employingthe accumulated electrical charges as the intensity of light, and basedon the numerical digital values for RGB, etc., color compression isperformed for incident light that is limited by the pitches and theapertures of the imaging elements, so that one color is allocated forone element, and the target to be authenticated is expressed as a colordata array. The thus obtained color data array is expressed as numericaldata that represent the coordinates for the locations of the imagingelements and the individual components, such as RGB, of the trichromaticsystem. For example, assuming that the color data array is (Xcoordinate, Y coordinate: R, G, B), data like (1, 1: 112, 28, 93), (1,2:17, 30, 104), (1, 3: 39, 36, 107), . . . , are obtained, as illustrated,and these values differ from each other because each time the scannerreads the target, the scanning position is varied by micro order.

The resolution difference also occurs for printed matter produced in anano-size or micro-size. When images are obtained by scanning duplicatecopies (mass-produced goods) like printed matter, there is an influence,exerted by a printing error and a difference in paper surfaces, at anano-level or a micro-level, which can not be really observed for theactual phenomenon. That is, the characteristics of an individual basedon nano-sized particles, which are provided without the intention, orwhich are not available for mass production even with the intention, areincorporated into the resolution difference. A difference that isgenerated, due to a difference between resolutions during scanning ofthe target, and due to the characteristics of an individual, is calledan “individual difference” in this invention.

<Extraction of Information Unique to Target>

According to this invention, a difference in individuals is obtainedfrom targets, such as printed material, although not limited to them andunique information for one target is extracted, based on the obtainedindividual difference, and is employed for the authenticationprocessing. One such method for extracting information inherent to atarget will now be explained. As described above, when image data areoutput each time scanning is employed, reproduction of the resolvedimages becomes unstable, and a difference in individuals is incorporatedinto the image data. However, since the values obtained simply byresolving are generally not constant, these values can not be employedas information that uniquely represents the target. Therefore,information for obtaining a predetermined relation is extracted from theindividual difference. That is, the data obtained by scanning arecompared, based on the corresponding positions for these data, and arerearranged in order, beginning with the data where the greatest changeis made, and the positional relationship of the data is replaced by thethree-dimensional coordinates, the points of which are connected inorder, so that a specific polygonal line pattern, i.e., a “line” isgenerated, along which “reconstruction instability element points”,which are elements used to prevent the same image resolving due to anindividual difference, are arranged in the order of strength ofreconstruction instability. As previously described, regardless of theresolution of the sensor of the scanner, this “line” can always begenerated by scanning the image of a target, and the order for drawingthe “line” includes predetermined universality based on the uniquenessof the information that is inherent to the target.

Since the order for drawing the line is the order in which reproductioninstability occurs, specifically, this order can be obtained in such amanner that the same target is scanned at least twice, and the rankingthat represents differences in the scanning results is specified.According to the fundamental principle of the present invention, whilethere is a problem that, each time a target is scanned, the same resultsare not always obtained, depending on physical conditions (thewavelength and property of light), and for mass-produced goods, such asprinted material, only an identification of the type is enabled by acomparison of the obtained individual difference and identification ofan individual is difficult, this problem can be resolved by using a morespecific method, whereby, instead of performing a comparison ofindividual differences, the ranking for instability for imagereproduction is observed for each array that is scanned, in order toenable identification of an individual. This can be realized based onthe fact that a target physically exists and the fact that the arrays ofthe image sensor are physically present. That is, the arrangement of theimage sensor is physically constant, and since the probability that theinternal structure of the image sensor will be adversely affected when ascanning position is shifted for each scanning is at least lower thanthe probability that shifting will occur in the scanning position, itcan be assumed that the arrays of the image sensor be maintained in theoriginal configuration state. Therefore, in the “line” pattern obtainedfrom image data (array values) in the scanned area, the positionalrelationship is maintained. That is, for the individual elements of theimage sensor, the values are changed for each scanning, but the order ofdifferences is maintained. Further, when different printed matter, forexample, is employed as a target and is scanned along the abovedescribed “line” pattern, a probability of matching is low, and aprobability, which will be described later, is obtained based on thenumber of “reproduction instability element points”, so thatdetermination of authentication can be appropriately performed. Sincethe “line pattern” represents image resolving instability, i.e.,expresses the degree of instability as to the values that are obtainedfor image data by the corresponding elements, the line pattern alsoindicates the order at which reproduction instability occurs. In thiscase, since it is simply required that the “line pattern” express thedegree of instability for reproduction, the line pattern can be obtainedby scanning the same target sequentially at least twice, and employingthe ranking for differences of the scanning results. That is, image dataobtained by sequentially scanning twice, for example, differ slightlyfrom each other, because of the characteristics of the target that aresmaller (finer) than the resolution level employed for scanning, andwhen these differences are processed based on the concept, such as theranking, the detailed characteristics of the target can be obtained. Inthis case, scanning is generally sequentially repeated twice, i.e.,performed within a predetermined period of time, because when a timeinterval is too long, a phenomenon that has occurred in the target isgreatly changed, and the above described principle might not becomeeffective. For example, in a case wherein the power of the imagingapparatus is turned off after the first photographing was performed, theimaging conditions are greatly changed due to non-reversibility for theamount of electric charges in the image sensor and the sensitivity tothe amount of light, and there is a probability that adjustment for theconditions will be difficult. Therefore, it is preferable thatphotographing multiple times be performed within a predeterminedcontiguous period, or be continuously performed in the state whereinalmost the same photographing conditions are maintained. According tothe principle of the present invention described above, no new apparatusis required, while a phenomenon that can not be captured in a singleimage resolving process is estimated by employing a plurality of sets ofimage data, and a phenomenon of a target beyond the resolving power ofthe image sensor can be obtained.

One process for extracting information inherent to a target will now bedescribed by employing the above described principle. Referring to FIG.5, as explained while referring to FIG. 4, a camera 501 where a CCD orCMOS image sensor is mounted sequentially scans a target 502 multipletimes under the same configuration requirements, and obtains digitaldata. FIG. 20 is a flowchart showing the processing for registeringindividual difference data according to this embodiment.

Since a different imaging apparatus might also be employed forauthentication, standard instruction data are employed to obtain, inadvance, correction values for normalizing the image resolving process,i.e., for performing a sight defect correction, such as a correction ofthe location of an imaging apparatus, etc., employed to calculateindividual difference data, corrections of a resolution and thelight-receiving color temperature for a sensor, white balancecorrection, ISO speed correction, lens distortion correction, correctionof chromatic aberration, concentration correction, correction of theamount of light for illumination, spectrum correction and conversionthat is consonant with the type of an imaging apparatus. A filterprovided for using these correction values is employed for the obtainedimage data. With this arrangement, the individual pixel values of imagedata can be changed, and regardless of the configuration of the imagingapparatus, the reading of image data is enabled under a predeterminedcondition; however, the method is not limited to this, and the exchangeof data representing correction values may also be performed while thedata are stored in a storage device, or another method well known forthis technical field may be employed to generate image data. Forexample, in a case wherein different imaging apparatuses are employedfor registration and for authentication, the resolution may be stored inadvance, and when low-resolution image data is to be processed, theresolution of the low-resolution image data may be changed to the samelevel by being increased (the amount of data becomes greater as theresolution is increased, while the numerical value is unchanged), ordecreased.

The same images 512 and 522 are actually captured for the target by thefirst scan and second scan; however, when image data 511 obtained thefirst time and the image data 521 obtained the second time are compared,it is understood that different array data are obtained due to a slightdifference in the scanning positions of a scanner. Specifically,compared with the array of the image data 511 obtained during the firstscan, (1,1: 112, 28, 93) (2,1: 17, 30, 104) (3,1: 39, 36, 107) (4,1:221, 38, 108), . . . , the array of the image data obtained by thesecond scan slightly differs, which is (1,1: 110, 45, 99) (2,1: 28, 24,167) (3,1: 35, 41, 100) (4,1: 209, 43, 111), . . . .

Then, a resolution difference is extracted from a plurality of imagedata sets obtained by scanning the target multiple times in the abovedescribed manner. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a plurality of sets,two sets in this case, i.e., image data 601 and 602 are employed toextract a differential image 603, and a resolution difference thatoccurs when image resolving is performed multiple times is regarded asan optical data difference, and is employed to reveal an individualdifference. In a case wherein a resolution difference is to becalculated, comparison of different points is meaningless, andtransformation values for translation and rotation for the individualsets of image data are calculated to align the positions where the sameportion of the subject is to be mapped. The transformation valuesobtained for the image data are employed to superimpose the pixel arraysof the individual sets of image data, and optical data of pixels at thealigned positions are compared to calculate an optical data difference.Any well known method for this technical field can be employed for thecalculation of the transformation values for aligning the positions.

For calculation of these transformation values, for example, severalcharacteristic points may be extracted from the individual sets of imagedata, and affine transformation, for example, may be performed to matchthese characteristic points; however, the calculation method is notlimited to this. In this embodiment, for a comparison of a plurality ofsets of image data, points correlated with each other are designated,and transformation values are calculated, which indicate howtranslations, such as parallel shifts, or rotations should be performedfor image data in order to superimpose the points; however, instead ofactually changing image data to overlay, the transformation values areemployed to specify corresponding points, and a difference of opticaldata is obtained for pixels located at the corresponding points. This isbecause there is a probability that, when image data are superimposed byactually performing transformation, a slight shift occurs. Therefore, solong as such a shift can be avoided, it may actually be possible for thetransformation process to be performed for the image data, followingwhich a difference is calculated and the above processing is performed.

FIG. 22 is a diagram for explaining a detailed example for thisembodiment for calculating an optical data difference. As describedabove, according to this embodiment, transformation is performed forimage data that are obtained by scanning a target multiple times, sothat the positions of image data where mapping of a subject is performedare aligned, and the optical data for the individual pixels that arecorrelated with each other are compared to obtain an optical datadifference. Specifically, this operation can be performed through theprocessing shown in FIG. 22. First, transformation values for image dataA2201 and image data B2202 are calculated so as to align the positionsfor mapping a subject. Then, the image data A and B are transformed, theobtained optical data for corresponding pixels (RBG components in thisexample) are compared, and a difference of the optical data is employedas an optical data difference for the corresponding physical positions.More specifically, virtual image data P2203 shown in FIG. 22 is prepared(thus, the size of the image data P is smaller than that of the imagedata A or B), and the individual points of the image data A and B areobtained based on the corresponding points of image data P2203. As shownin enlarged image data portions A2205 and B2206, the pixels of the imagedata A and B do not completely match when the data are superimposed, anda specific pixel in the image data A2205 overlaps a plurality of pixelsin the image data B2206.

Therefore, in this embodiment, for example, for acquisition of anoptical data difference, a difference is calculated between an opticaldata value for one pixel and optical data values of a plurality ofpixels that overlap that pixel; however, the method is not limited tothis, and any other well known method in this technical field can beemployed for calculation. In this case, a connection point that will bedescribed later can be a midpoint 2211 of a center point 2209 of onepixel and a center 2210 of center points of corresponding multiplepixels. As a result of calculation, the image of the obtained opticaldata difference is expressed using color. It should be noted that, inactuality, the above described intermediate process is not present, anda one-stroke line pattern is directly obtained based on data for theoptical data difference. When the individual component values are addedtogether, the obtained total value is regarded as an optical datadifference with respect to the image data A and B.

In this manner, the resolution difference can be represented as a phasedifference at the position where corresponding images are superimposed,by employing, for example, the sum of the absolute values of thedifferences for the individual RGB components at each imagesuperimposition position, as shown in FIG. 6. Here, since as describedabove the superimposition positions of pixels of the image data 601 and602 should be identified in order to obtain a difference between theimage data 601 and 602, the individual characteristic points of theindividual image data sets are employed to specify in advance thecorresponding positions to superimpose, so that optical data for thesame portion of a subject can be compared with each other. As a resultof such superimposition, the individual pixel values that correspond tothe physical positions of the image data A 601 and B 602 are comparedfor each of the RGB components, and the obtained difference is expressedusing color as an optical data difference C. That is, for the image data601, when array A (1,1: 112, 28, 93) (2,1: 17, 30, 104) (3,1: 39, 36,107) (4,1: 221, 38, 108) . . . and array B (1,1: 110, 45, 99) (2,1: 28,24, 167) (3,1: 35, 41, 100) (4,1: 209, 43, 111) . . . are converted intoactual distances, A′ (0.009, 5.391, 0.0: 112, 28, 93) (0.027, 5.391,0.0: 17, 30, 104) (0.045, 5.391, 0.0: 39, 36, 107) (0.063, 5.391, 0.0:221, 38, 108) . . . (coordinate unit of μμm) and B′ (0.011, 5.392, 0.0:110, 45, 99) (0.031, 5,392, 0.0: 28, 24, 167) (0.048, 5.392, 0.0: 35,41, 100) (0.066, 5.392, 0.0: 209, 43, 111) . . . , A′ (+)B′=CB′ (0.011,5,392, 0.0: 110, 45, 99) (0.031, 5.392, 0.0: 28, 24, 167) (0.048, 5.392,0.0: 35, 41, 100) (0.066, 5.392, 0.0: 209, 43, 111).

The resolution difference thus obtained includes an attribute unique toa target because characteristics inherent to the target areincorporated, and a predetermined correlation exists for the resultsthat are extracted by scanning the same target multiple times. In orderto make this relationship more apparent, i.e., to enable authenticationof the target, the obtained resolution difference is employed to connectthe reproduction instability element points. That is, based on theresolution difference, the reproduction instability element points arearranged in the descending order of the reproduction instabilitystrength, i.e., the midpoints of the individual superimpositionpositions in the above described example are arranged in order beginningwith the greatest value of an optical data difference, and this orderrepresents reproducibility with respect to the image resolving processof a target to be photographed, i.e., a predetermined correlation isestablished about the same target. Compared with an individualdifference, the numerical value of the reproduction instabilitystrength, i.e., the optical data difference for the individual sets ofimage data, is more adversely affected by an error that occurs duringthe image resolving process, and therefore, is not appropriate asinformation unique to a target. Therefore, the points are rearranged andconnected in order, while the numerical value of the reproductioninstability strength is disregarded and only the positional informationis taken into account. For positional information, the size of imagingelements, which are constituents of an imaging apparatus, andconfiguration information of an optical system, such as the lensstructure and a subject distance, are employed, and the physical size ofa subject that corresponds to the pixel size of image data is calculatedbased on the positions of pixels that are superimposed, and then, themidpoint of the physical mapping positions for the center points ofpixels that are superimposed is obtained, so that the positionalinformation is employed to support a case, for example, wherein theratio of the size of image data to the size of a subject is changed whenthe configuration of an imaging apparatus differs for registration andfor authentication.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the transformation values of theindividual image data sets, which have been superimposed to obtain theoptical data difference in FIG. 6, are employed to change thesuperimposed pixel positions to the physical positions(three-dimensional positions) of a subject, which is mapped at the pixelcenter point, and the midpoints of these physical positions are employedas positional information of the individual connection points alongconnected lines in a polygonal line pattern that represents anindividual difference. Optical data differences 701D (25) (80) (16) (20). . . are rearranged in the order of the values of optical datadifferences, and A′ (3.353, 0.072, 0.0) (1.771, 0.960, 0.0) (5.295,5.245, 0.0) (4.276, 0.928, 0.0) . . . and B′(3.357, 0.072, 0.0) (1.773,0.963, 0.0) (5.292, 5.247, 0.0) (4.275, 0.927, 0.0) . . . are obtained,which are physical positions of a subject that is mapped at the centerpositions of corresponding pixels for the first two image data sets thatare employed for calculation of difference values. When positionalinformation of the midpoint (the averaged position for the X, Y and Zaxes) is L(3.355, 0.072, 0.0) (1.772, 0.9615, 0.0) (5.2935, 5.246, 0.0)(4.2755, 0.9275, 0.0) . . . , connected lines as shown in an image 702are generated, which represent an individual difference obtained fromthe image data in the scan area. Here, connected lines or an imagerepresenting these connected lines is called a one-stroke line image. Aswill be described later, the obtained one-stroke line image provides theorder for reproducibility, which can not be obtained by a single imageresolving process, and represents characteristics unique to a target.

Through the above processing, it is possible to obtain data relative toconnection of reproduction instability element points, which isindividual difference data extracted based on a difference betweenindividuals included in data obtained by scanning a target, and in thisembodiment, the individual difference data is employed to performauthentication of the identify of a target. However, the individualdifference data and the extraction method described above are merelyrepresentative examples for the present invention, and so long asinformation is inherent to a target and is incorporated to a resolutiondifference in image data obtained by scanning a target, such informationcan be extracted by using an arbitrary method well known in thistechnical field, and can be employed as individual difference data forthis invention. Furthermore, in the above described description, the RGBcomponent values are employed; however, as is apparent from theprinciple of the present invention, any data can be employed so long asthe data is obtained by optically scanning the state of the surface of atarget at a predetermined resolution, and consists of arraysrepresenting the intensity of light for each scan unit area.

<Target Authentication Process>

While referring to FIGS. 8, 10 and 23, an explanation will be given fora method for authenticating a target based on individual difference dataobtained above, i.e., a method for employing individual difference datato determine whether a target, such as printed matter, matches a targetfrom which individual difference data was already extracted. First, anexplanation will be given for a precondition that predeterminedsimilarity is established in a case wherein reproducibility in the orderof the reproduction instability element points, i.e., the positionalinformation of the connection points is arranged for the same target, inthe order of the strength of optical data difference, beginning with thegreatest value. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing the authenticationprocessing performed for this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 8, image data is obtained in advance by reading atarget 502 using a scanner, etc., multiple times, and individualdifference data, represented by connecting lines in an image 801, isextracted and stored in some storage means, such as a database. In thiscase, the target is further scanned by the camera 501 multiple times,and as shown in an image 802, the one-stroke line pattern in the image801 extracted in advance is employed to overlay the pixels at theconnection positions of the one-stroke line pattern, and an optical datadifference is obtained at the positions corresponding to the pixels, orspecifically, the connection positions are compared in the order ofconnecting lines. As a result of comparison, since the individualdifference is reflected in the resolution difference, the one-strokeline images do not completely match, as shown in FIG. 8; however, as forthe points of a one-stroke line pattern of the image 801 and those ofthe image 802, predetermined reproducibility is established for theorder of reproduction instability element points and a one-stroke linepattern 803 can be obtained. Therefore, for one-stroke line patternsobtained for the same target, since reproducibility is present in theorder in which the corresponding points are connected, the degree ofmatching for the order can be employed to determine the identify of anindividual.

Here, in this embodiment, matching for a target is performed bycomparing the positions of the connection points that are arranged inthe descending order of the strengths of differential optical data;however, a method for comparison of one-stroke line images is notlimited to this method, and various pattern comparison methods, i.e.,variations on the connection comparison method, are available, such as amethod for coupling the points in order, beginning with the lowest levelof the reproduction instability element strength, and comparing thesepoints. In a case wherein the present invention method is employed,since a limitation of a target to be authenticated is enabled by usingparameters and a comparison method that are appropriate for a target tobe captured, these parameters and a comparison method are togethercalled a tinted-glasses connection, or a connection and comparisonsetup. For a tinted-glasses connection, the following various parametersare employed, and a connection type for a one-stroke line image isdetermined in accordance with a set of the parameters. An example forthe tinted-glasses connection is shown in FIG. 17. Further, theconnection types for a one-stroke line image are shown in FIGS. 18 and19. In FIG. 18 the index type is shown, and in FIG. 19 the sequence typeis shown. The parameters employed for the tinted-glasses connection are:((the order (forward or reverse) of reproduction instability elementstrengths)(the least required connection distance)(the thresholdstrength value) (change in strength)(the number of connection points)(the scan area size)+α)).

Further, a one-stroke line image formation example that corresponds tothese parameters is as follows.

Index type “one-stroke line image”:((starting point: three dimensional Cartesian coordinates XYZ) (startingpoint: a three dimensional vector) (a distance)+the number of points x((a three dimensional vector) (a distance))Sequence type “one-stroke line image”:The number of points x three dimensional Cartesian coordinates XYZ

That is, various comparison methods can be employed, such as one foremploying the ascending order, instead of the descending order, whichwill be described in detail below, one for skipping reproductioninstability element points, for which the distances do not reach theleast required connection distance, one for skipping elements, for whichthe change in strength is equal to or lower than a predetermined level,one for connecting points until the number of connection points reachesthe maximum value, or one for connecting points only within the range ofa designated area. Furthermore, the most appropriate tinted-glassesconnection can be employed in accordance with a material on which atarget is presented and a method for representing the target, i.e., aprinting method and an ink type used for the target, and it is alsorequired for the actual authentication process to determine in advancewhich tinted-glasses connection should be employed. Therefore, in adatabase, etc., used to store individual difference data describedabove, associated information concerning tinted-glasses connections tobe employed is stored in correlation with the individual difference databy using a predetermined method, so that the authentication process canbe performed, based on the individual difference data, under optimalconditions. The associated information can include not only informationfor the tinted-glasses connection, but also other useful informationemployed when the identity of an individual is to be determined based onthe individual difference data.

Next, a method for determining the identity, i.e., a method fordetermining reproducibility for the order of reproduction instabilityelement points, will be described. A specific process example shown inFIG. 23 is employed for this explanation. For match determination for atarget to be authenticated, first, a one-stroke line pattern 2301extracted and registered at first is traced along the connection orderto examine whether a predetermined relationship has been established forthe differential values of optical data of pixels, for which theindividual connection positions correspond to the physical portions ofthe pixels of image data 2302 that have been obtained and superimposedfor authentication. In this case, match determination is performed byusing a comparison method defined based on the tinted-glassesconnection. For example, in a case wherein a matched polygonal shape isformed of three points, every three connection points of the one-strokeline pattern, from the beginning, are examined to determine whether theorder relation is established for the corresponding points, and when thecorrespondence of the three points is established, the pertinent polygonis regarded as a matched form to increment the number of polygonalshapes. Then, examination for the correspondence relation issequentially performed until the end point of the one-stroke line image.As a result, matched forms are stored in a matched polygon array, and ina case wherein the number of matched forms is equal to or greater than athreshold value for match determination, it is determined thatauthentication has been successful. Of course, a search of matchedpolygons may also be performed until a predetermined count is reached,and when the count value goes beyond the predetermined count, it may beassumed that authentication has successful and that the processing maybe terminated.

In this embodiment, during the authentication process, instead ofgenerating connected lines, the connected lines that were registered aretraced for image data obtained by scanning for authentication, and thenumber of matched sequences are counted. However, during theauthentication process, connected lines may also be generated and becompared with each other to determine the identify. A specific matchingprocess using polygons will now be described while referring to FIG. 9.Specifically, as a method for comparing one-stroke line images, everythree points of each one-stroke line image, from the beginning, areemployed to obtain a correlation of them, and when three points of twoimage are matched, it is assumed that a matched polygon is present, andthe number of matched polygons is incremented to determine the identity.Matching using polygons is also performed by comparing a one-stroke linepattern indicated by an image 902, which represents individualdifference data that was again extracted at the time of authentication,with a one-stroke line pattern indicated by an image 901, whichrepresents individual difference data that was extracted and registeredfirst. Comparison and match determination for the two one-stroke linepatterns are performed in accordance with one tinted-glasses connectionthat includes the above described connection order, and triangles areformed using three contiguous points (matched polygonal forms arepresent). Then, as shown in a matching image 903, a check is performedto determine whether correspondence has been established for every threepoints of the one-stroke line images, from the beginning, and in a casewherein the correspondence of the three points has been established, thenumber of matched polygons is counted. The correspondence issequentially examined in this manner until the endpoint of theone-stroke line image. As a result, the matched forms are stored in apolygon array 904, and in a case wherein the number of matched forms isequal to or greater than a threshold value for match determination, itis determined that the authentication has been successful.

<Identity Match Probability>

An explanation will now be given for how the match probability that wasobtained in a case wherein all of the pixels were simply connected inorder of (resolving) reproduction instability strength points, withoutrepetitively passing these points, is to change in a case wherein thenumber of points is reduced, in correlation with the physical size of atarget to be authenticated, which is obtained with the resolution of adigital imaging apparatus, and the size (pixel size) of image data thatis collected by focusing. Here, two images are read as data, and thesame resolution is employed.

Based on the authentication method, one-stroke line images are finallychanged to data representing a correlation of coordinates only, and theprobability for matching the one-stroke line images by chance is givenby the following expression. When the sizes of an image in the x, y andz directions after trimming are denoted by Xt, Yt and Zt, a degree offreedom for each reproduction instability element point is Xt×Yt×Zt in acase wherein the instability of the element point is uniform, and whenthe total of reproduction instability element points is denoted by N, aprobability that an arbitrary point on image data is a reproductioninstability element point is

$\begin{matrix}\frac{1}{X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{14mu} 1} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In a case for the matching of one-stroke line images, when the sizes ofan image at the time of registration are X_(r), Y_(r), and Z_(r), andwhen it is assumed that the physical portions consonant with the pixelsare regarded as the areas of corresponding pixels of data for anotherimage, a match probability of the arbitrary point is

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{N}{X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \times \frac{1}{X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{14mu} 2} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

In the case wherein a matched polygon is a shape formed by three points,a probability that all of the first three points are matched between theimages is

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{N}{X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \times \frac{N - 1}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - 1} \times \frac{N - 2}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - 2} \times \frac{1}{X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \times \frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - 1} \times \frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - 2}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{14mu} 3} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

When this expression is employed for the second and following sets ofthree points, an identity match probability R for a case wherein thenumber of matched forms is P is

$\begin{matrix}{R = {\prod\limits_{i = 0}^{P - 1}\; {\begin{Bmatrix}{\frac{N - {3\; i}}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - {3i}} \times \frac{N - {3\; i} - 1}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - {3\; i} - 1} \times} \\\frac{N - {3\; i} - 2}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - {3\; i} - 2}\end{Bmatrix} \times {\prod\limits_{i = 0}^{P - 1}\; \begin{Bmatrix}{\frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - {3\; i}} \times \frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - {3\; i} - 1} \times} \\\frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - {3\; i} - 2}\end{Bmatrix}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{14mu} 4} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

Further, in a case wherein the number N of reproduction instabilityelement points connected to form a one-stroke line image is employed asthe total number of pixels of image data,

$\begin{matrix}{R = {\prod\limits_{i = 0}^{{X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} - 1}\; \begin{Bmatrix}{\frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - \; {3i}} \times \frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - {3\; i} - 1} \times} \\\frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - {3\; i} - 2}\end{Bmatrix}}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{14mu} 5} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

It is obvious that, as the number of points to be connected is reduced,a probability that the one-stroke line images are matched by chance isincreased. When the accuracy for determination of authentication isincreased, matching of a predetermined number or more of connectionpoints should be provided as a requirement. Furthermore, when the numberof contiguously matched points to form a polygon is increased fromthree, the number of mathematical operations in { } in [Ex. 5] isincreased, and the probability of matching by chance is reduced, so thatthis method can also improve the authentication accuracy. Furthermore,it is self-evident that, in [Ex. 3], a probability of matching only thefirst and the third points is

$\begin{matrix}{\frac{N}{X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \times \frac{N - 1}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - 1} \times \frac{N - 2}{\left( {X_{t} \times Y_{t} \times Z_{t}} \right) - 2} \times \frac{1}{X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \times \frac{1}{\left( {X_{r} \times Y_{r} \times Z_{r}} \right) - 1}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{11mu} 6} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

and a probability of matching by chance is increased.

According to the example explained above while referring to FIG. 9, athreshold value of five matches is employed for the number of matchedpolygons formed of three points, and when matches equal to or greaterthan the threshold value are found, it is determined that theauthentication has failed. It should be noted that the optimal thresholdvalue can be determined in accordance with the characteristics of atarget to be authenticated, i.e., in accordance with a material type anda printing method that were employed.

Example

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram for an authentication systemaccording to one embodiment of the present invention. An authenticationsystem 100, according to this embodiment, is an apparatus that includesa CPU 101, a ROM 102, a RAM 103 and various interfaces for externaldevices, to which a scanner 110 for reading a target and a displaydevice 120 for displaying the results can be connected. Of course, ascanner for scanning a target, which is required for the presentinvention, may be incorporated in the apparatus, and as anotherfunction, a printer, for outputting the results, may be included, or theapparatus may be connected to a network to exchange data with adatabase. Specifically, this system may be employed as a dedicatedapparatus for authentication, and various known system configurationsfor this technical field are available, such as the connection of ascanner to a mobile phone equipped with a camera, or to a laptopcomputer or a personal computer.

FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram for the embodiment of the presentinvention. In this embodiment, a software program is executed by the CPU101 to perform various functions required to realize the presentinvention, and the processing may also be performed for the individualfunctional blocks shown in FIG. 2. That is, the processing is performedby an image reading unit 201, for scanning a target and extracting animage, an individual difference data calculation unit 202, forcalculating individual difference data based on the obtained image, anindividual difference data comparison unit 203, for comparing theobtained individual difference data, and a determination unit 204, formaking a final determination as to whether the target should beauthenticated. In this embodiment, the processing is performed by thefunctional blocks shown in FIG. 2; however, the blocks are not limitedto those shown, and the functional blocks may be divided to provide moreblocks, or a plurality of these functional blocks may be combined toform different functional blocks for performing the processing.

The processing performed in this example will be described whilereferring to FIGS. 3, 10 and 12. In this example, since a specifictarget is to be compared with a target that has been registered inadvance, or has been set forth as a matching target, and theauthentication process, i.e., determination as to whether the twotargets are matched is to be performed, it is assumed for thisprocessing that individual difference data previously explained wasobtained in advance and is stored in a specified area. The individualdifference data obtained in advance may be stored in memory provided forthe apparatus, such as the ROM 102 or the RAM 103, or may be obtainedfrom an external storage device or via a network.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing the authentication processing performedfor the embodiment of the present invention. The image reading unit 201employs the scanner 110 to scan a target, and outputs image data (S301).Since the scanner 110 employed for reading generally differs from areading apparatus that was used to calculate individual difference datain advance, a predetermined correction is performed for the thusobtained image data to remove a reading difference (S302). In thisexample, standard instruction data is employed to obtain, in advance,correction values that are used for normalizing the image resolvingprocess, such as correction of the location of an imaging apparatus,etc., employed to calculate individual difference data, correction ofthe light-receiving color temperature for a sensor, white balancecorrection, ISO speed correction, lens distortion correction, correctionof a chromatic aberration, concentration correction, correction of theamount of light for illumination, spectrum correction and conversionthat is consonant with the type of imaging apparatus. When a filterprovided using these correction values is employed for image data thatis obtained, the individual pixel values of image data can be changed,and regardless of the configuration of the imaging apparatus, thereading of image data is enabled under a predetermined condition;however, the method is not thereby limited, and the exchange ofcorrection value data may also be performed while the data are stored ina storage device, or another method well known to this technical fieldmay be employed to generate image data.

Generally, the authentication of a target can be performed by using onlypart of an image. FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the extractionprocess for a specific application example for the embodiment of thepresent invention. As shown in FIG. 11, a label attached to a product isa target, and is one type of printed matter. As a target, an arbitraryselected area of the label is scanned twice to obtain two images, and aone-stroke line image is generated based on the two images obtained(S303). Then, a one-stroke line image obtained in advance is read fromthe memory (S304), and is compared with the one-stroke line imagegenerated at S303, as shown in FIG. 12 (S305). FIG. 12 is a diagram forexplaining the match determination processing for the specificapplication example of this embodiment of the present invention. Forcomparison, when the connection and comparison method described above,for example, which uses polygons, and when a match is found at apredetermined probability (S306), a notification that authentication wassuccessful is transmitted (S307), or when a match is not found at apredetermined probability (S306), a notification that authenticationfailed is transmitted (S308). In this example, the printed portion of alabel has been employed for determination of authentication success;however, the method is not limited to this, and any other method wellknown to this technical field can be employed. For example, theimpression of a seal, which is affixed as an indicator to a label inadvance, may be employed as a target, and when color information can beobtained from a surface portion of a container, such data can beemployed.

In this example, the following apparatus, settings, etc., were employed,and extraction of an individual difference and authentication of theidentity were performed for a medical label. A label to be authenticatedwas a film based label vertically 44.0 [mm]×horizontally 74.0 [mm], andneither a special ink nor a special process were provided for printingthe label. A one-stroke line image was the sequence type, and theimaging equipment was a CCD digital camera having a pixel total of10,750,000 pixels, for which the settings were manual focus, a lightsensitivity of ISO 100, an aperture of F8, a shutter speed of 1/20 [s],and an image size (W×H) of 3872×2592 [pixels], and the number of timesto be photographed was twice.

Specifically, the following processing was performed to extract thecharacteristics for an individual difference.

(1) As shown in FIG. 11, a target label was set up for a photographingrange of vertically 15.5 [mm]×horizontally 23.2 [mm], and wasphotographed twice, under the above conditions, to obtain image data fortwo images.(2) The two sets of image data thus obtained were trimmed to obtain likesizes, 8.7 [mm]×8.7 [mm], and optical data difference D(x,y), defined bythe following expression, was calculated based on the two sets of imagedata. Assume that image data 1 is denoted by g1 (x,y) and image data 2is denoted by g2 (x,y). X and Y are, respectively, a set of xcoordinates and a set of y coordinates of image data.

$\begin{matrix}{\underset{{({x,y})} \in {({X,Y})}}{D\left( {x,y} \right)} = {{{{g\; 1_{R}\left( {x,y} \right)} - {g\; 2_{R}\left( {x,y} \right)}}} + {{{g\; 1_{G}\left( {x,y} \right)} - {g\; 2_{G}\left( {x,y} \right)}}} + {{{g\; 1_{B}\left( {x,y} \right)} - {g\; 2_{B}\left( {x,y} \right)}}}}} & \left\lbrack {{Ex}.\mspace{14mu} 7} \right\rbrack\end{matrix}$

It should be noted that g1R(x,y) represents the R component of RGBvalues, and this applies to the other values.

(3) The following conditions were employed to generate a one-stroke lineimage. Based on a connection in the descending order for thereproduction instability elements, the least required connectiondistance of 62 μm, the threshold value of 10.0 for the reproductioninstability strength, and the number of connection points of 250, aone-stroke line image 1201 shown in FIG. 11 was generated by using theoptical data difference obtained above.(4) The thus obtained one-stroke line image 1201 was stored in adatabase as individual difference characteristics of the target to beauthenticated in a database, together with associated information (thesettings of the apparatus employed, one-stroke line image generationconditions, etc.).(5) Under the same conditions as those in (1), the image of the targetwas captured two times again, and a one-stroke line image 1302 shown inFIG. 12 was also generated.(6) Based on associated information, the database was referred to forthe one-stroke line image, and matching was performed, beginning withthe first connection points, between the one-stroke line image 1201retrieved from the database and the one-stroke line image 1302 generatedat this time. The matching conditions were set as follows: the matchshape should be formed of three points, the number of polygonal formsleast required for match determination should be four.(7) The authentication result 1301 shown in FIG. 12 was obtained bymatching. As shown in FIG. 12, since the number of polygons 1303 thatmatched were 26, which satisfied the condition that the number of matchpolygonal forms should be four or more, it was determined that thisone-stroke line image is identical to the one-stroke line image that wasregistered, and it could be ascertained that authentication of thetarget was successful.

FIGS. 13 to 16 are diagrams for explaining another specific applicationexample according to the embodiment of the present invention. For theexample shown in FIG. 13, a tablet is employed as a target. Generally, amark, a name, etc., indicating the identity of a tablet is printed onthe surface of the tablet. When the present invention is employed forthe printed portions, the individual tablets can be identified. Forexample, when individual difference data is prepared during amanufacturing process, it is possible to uniquely specify a factory, anda lot and a time that individual tablets were produced, and variousutilizations can be expected. Furthermore, when color information can beobtained from the surface of a tablet, identification for a tablet evenwithout a mark, etc., being printed is enabled by employing the presetinvention.

A specific authentication process will be described in the same way asprovided for a medical label. As shown in FIG. 13, a white round tabletwith a grey mark imprinted in a vertically 7.5 [mm]×horizontally 7.5[mm] white background was employed. This tablet is a medicinecommercially available on the market. The same imaging equipment as usedfor the medical label described above was employed, and as imagingconditions, only the shutter speed was changed to 1/50[s], and the samevalues were employed for the other settings. Further, the number oftimes photographing was performed was also the same, two times.

Under the above described conditions, individual differencecharacteristics were extracted in the following manner.

(1) A target tablet was set up for a photographing range of vertically15.5 [mm]×horizontally 23.2 [mm], and was then photographed two times,under the above described imaging conditions, and image data for twoimages were obtained.(2) The two sets of image data were trimmed to obtain the sizes ofvertically 4.2 [mm]×horizontally 3.5 [mm], and the resultant two sets ofimage data were employed to obtain a digital reproduction difference inthe same manner as performed for the medical label described above.(3) The tinted-glasses connection was provided to set the sequence typefor forming a one-stroke line image, the descending order forconnection, the least required connection distance of 63 μm, thresholdvalue of 20.0 for the reproduction instability strength, and 250 as thenumber of the connection points, and based on these conditions, aone-stroke line image was generated. The obtained one-stroke line imageis shown in FIG. 13.(4) The obtained one-stroke line image and associated information werestored in a database, and authentication registration was completed.(5) Under the same conditions as those in (1), the target wasphotographed twice again to extract a one-stroke line image.(6) Similarly, matching was performed, beginning with the firstconnection points, between the currently obtained one-stroke line imageand the one-stroke line image that was read from the database. Thematching condition was so set that a matching shape should be formed ofthree points and the number of polygonal forms least required for matchdetermination should be four.(7) The matching results are shown in FIG. 13. The number of matchingshapes is 13, which indicates that authentication was successful.

An example shown in FIG. 14 is an example for which the presentinvention was applied for labels of Japanese rice wine, wine, etc., anda signature portion or a seal portion, for example, on a label may beemployed as a specific portion to read, or even when a portion to readis not especially designated, the area to be read can be easilyidentified. Furthermore, scanning may also be performed while an imagerepresented by affixing a seal on the label is employed as a target, andthe authentication process may be performed.

For an example shown in FIG. 15, the printed portion of a retort-packedfood is employed, and so long as a target can be read by a scanner,etc., and an image for the target can be generated, the presentinvention can be applied for the target, regardless of which materialand which printing method is employed for the target.

For an example shown in FIG. 16, the present invention is employed forthe identification of a painting, and since the overall area of thetarget is printed matter, an arbitrary portion is available for the useof the present invention. Further, even for such a target that has beengreatly deteriorated over time, since the connection points that matchat a predetermined ratio are kept and are not lost, the authenticationaccuracy can be maintained.

In the above examples, except for a tablet, a specific portion to beemployed for authentication should be designated; however, such aportion can be designated by using a method well known in this technicalfield, for example, by determining the right end portion in advance, orby transmitting information about an area that has been selected.

1-11. (canceled)
 12. An authentication system comprising: storage meansfor storing, as individual difference data used to uniquely identify anobject to be authenticated, connected lines that are generated in such amanner that an optical data difference is calculated at positionscorresponding each other among a plurality of sets of digital dataobtained by scanning and resolving the object, and are coupled in order,as connection points, based on the amount of the obtained optical datadifference; and digital imaging means for, when the digital imagingmeans has obtained digital data through scanning, multiple times, theobject to be authenticated under predetermined configurationrequirements, comparing a plurality of sets of the thus obtained digitaldata to match positions for mapping the object to be authenticated;reading, from the storage means, the connected lines for the individualdifference data; and when it is determined that a predeterminedrelationship is established between the obtained optical data differenceat the connection points and the order of the connected lines,determining that authentication is successful.
 13. The authenticationsystem according to claim 12, wherein a resolution of the digitalimaging means is included in configuration requirements for the digitalimaging means; and the resolution of the digital imaging means is lowerthan a particle size used to form an image of the target to beauthenticated.
 14. The authentication system according to claim 12,wherein the transformation value calculation means sequentially scansthe target to be authenticated a plurality of times.
 15. Theauthentication system according to claim 12, further comprising:correction means for employing predesignated information to performcorrection for normalizing a difference in image data caused by adifference in configuration requirements for the digital imaging means.16. The authentication system according to claim 12, wherein the storagemeans also stores a line connection comparison setup, includingparameters and comparison methods, to be used for comparison ofconnected lines; and the individual difference data extraction anddetermination means employs the comparison setup stored in the storagemeans to trace, along a polygonal line, positions of connection pointson the connected lines that have been read, and determines thatauthentication is successful, when the obtained optical data differenceindicates, with respect to the order of connection lines, apredetermined relationship that is designated in the comparison setup.17. The authentication system according to claim 12, wherein when theobtained optical data difference indicates a descending order by apredetermined number, with respect to the order of the connection lines,the individual difference data extraction and determination meansdetermines that authentication is successful.
 18. An authenticationinformation registration method, the method comprising: calculatingparallel translation and rotational transformation, so that based onpredetermined configuration requirements for digital imaging means, atarget to be authenticated is scanned by the digital imaging means aplurality of times to obtain digital data, a plurality of sets ofdigital data thus obtained are compared with each other, and locationsat which mapping for the target to be authenticated is performed usingthe digital data are matched; employing the obtained paralleltranslation and rotational transformation to designate correlatedlocations of pixel arrays of the plurality of sets of digital data, andcalculating an optical data difference for the correlated locations thatare designated; calculating a physical size for a subject, with respectto a pixel size of digital data based on configuration requirements forthe digital imaging means, employing the obtained physical size tocalculate, as connection points, midpoints of physical positions of thesubject that correspond to the center positions of pixels that arelocated at the corresponding positions, coupling the connection pointsin the descending order, by an arbitrary number of times, beginning withthe largest optical data difference, and extracting connected lines asindividual difference data; and registering the extracted connectedlines at storage means.
 19. A matching method, for an authenticationsystem that includes storage means for storing, as individual differencedata used to uniquely identify an object to be authenticated, connectedlines that are generated in such a manner that an optical datadifference is calculated at positions corresponding each other among aplurality of sets of digital data obtained by scanning and resolving theobject, and are coupled in order, as connection points, based on theamount of the obtained optical data difference, comprising: when thedigital imaging means has obtained digital data through scanning,multiple times, the object to be authenticated under configurationrequirements for the digital imaging means, comparing a plurality ofsets of the thus obtained digital data to match positions for mappingthe object to be authenticated; reading, from the storage means, theconnected lines for the individual difference data; and when it isdetermined that a predetermined relationship is established between theoptical data difference at the connection points and the order of theconnected lines, determining that authentication is successful.
 20. Theauthentication system according to claim 12, wherein the storage meansgenerates connected lines by coupling in order, as connection points,beginning with the largest obtained optical data difference, physicalpositions of a subject, which correspond to center positions of pixelslocated at the obtained corresponding positions, calculated based on aphysical size of the subject that corresponds to a pixel size at thetime of the scanning.
 21. The authentication system according to claim20, wherein the digital imaging means comprises: transformation valuecalculation means for comparing a plurality of sets of the thus obtaineddigital data and calculating translation and rotational transformationof the individual digital data sets in order to match positions formapping the object to be authenticated; and individual difference dataextraction and determination means for employing the obtainedtranslation and rotational transformation to identify correlatedpositions of pixel arrays of the plurality of digital data sets and toread, from the storage means, the connected lines for the individualdifference data for the corresponding positions, for tracing a polygonalline to search for locations of the connection points present on theconnected lines that have been read, and for calculating an optical datadifference of pixels on physical pixel planes that include the locationsof the connection points, and that are superimposed, and when it isdetermined that a predetermined relationship is established between theobtained optical data difference and the order of the connected lines,for determining that authentication is successful.
 22. An authenticationsystem comprising: calculation means for obtaining a plurality of setsof digital data by scanning and resolving an object to be authenticatedusing digital imaging means and obtaining an optical data difference atcorresponding positions, designated by the digital data; and storagemeans for storing, as individual difference data used to uniquelyidentify an object to be authenticated, connected lines that aregenerated in such a manner that midpoints for physical positions of asubject, which correspond to center positions of pixels located at theobtained corresponding positions, are calculated based on a physicalsize of the subject that corresponds to a pixel size of the digitalimaging means, and are coupled in order, as connection points, beginningwith the largest obtained optical data difference obtained by thecalculation means.